Shard
by Starseeded
Summary: *Pre-Earth* Cybertron: Starscream is cursed upon by a higher power. It was a simple 'wrong place, wrong time' incident. Follow him as he learns to cope with this new curse and the horrors it brings to himself and to others.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Disclaimer:** _I don't own any of it, though it's fun to write ^^_

**A/N 2:** _So,_ _Halloween is right around the corner and this has been gathering dust for a while. Not entirely sure where it came from, but it seems to fit the bill. Not entirely sure where it's going, as it's a WIP (Well, I got the main plot down, so it won't be a total train wreck lol), but do enjoy what follows!_

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Prologue:

It came on abruptly and without warning. He usually got sensations before it hit, letting him know it was coming so he could escape, but not this time. This time it was so abrupt, he hadn't had time to flee.

Starscream leaned against the wall, feeling the numbing liquid quickly take effect as his systems calmed once more. As his body stilled and with his vision no longer enshrouded by his bloodthirsty crave, he glanced over at the mech whose body lie on the ground not far from him.

Shock made him freeze in place and he was forced to stare longer than he would have liked. The dull ache of sadness crept up on his spark as he stared in disbelief at the one who had supplied him last. No word could express how he was feeling at that given time. He'd felt sorry for the other times and others he'd come across, but not this bad. "TC…" He choked on the simple word, the spikes of regret lodging into his vocal processor.

The Second in Command of the Decepticons had brutally attacked his wing mate, his voracious appetite taking over him completely in a way it hadn't done before. Poor Thundercracker never even saw it coming. He knew that Starscream was acting funny for a while now, but he had no idea how just how far off the Air Commander really was until his dying moments. What was he going to do? He was positive Skywarp would come for Thundercracker. What would he tell him?

Starscream's optics fell to the ground below him. He was beside himself and unsure what to do now. Thundercracker was the closest friend he'd had besides Skywarp. And now… now he wore his fresh energon all over his body. He'd used his friend's life force to sustain himself because of this stupid curse. It was the last straw. Looking down at himself and knowing what he had done, he curled in on himself and cried for the first time in a very, very long time. The seeker could still remember the look on Thundercracker's face – the horror in his friend's optics, his confusion and hurt. He glanced over meekly, hoping it was all a nightmare and that Thundercracker would move, showing he was still alive. But, he did not. His face was still contorted in the fear and confusion Starscream had scarred on him.

He gazed for a long moment in the stupor of finality, remembering his curse and the one who'd set it on him. It was a strange black and red mech who had sharp points all over his body with a crooked like chevron. He'd never personally seen a mech that looked like that one before – the existence of such a strange looking mech was too surreal.

'You will devour everyone around you and you won't have any control over it.' At first, he didn't know how he was supposed to take what he'd been told, choosing to ignore the words. But then he found out. He didn't like it. He hated it and there was _no_ way out. It was the last thing he heard before he was sucked into a life that he never thought could even exist. One to which there was no escape, for he had tried.

Skywarp, having finally honed in on Thundercracker's now dying beacon, landed in a panic. It took him a moment to absorb what he was seeing. Thundercracker was dead, lying there, his chest torn to shreds. The black and purple Seeker didn't know what to make of what he landed upon. Starscream was cowering next to the wall looking like he'd done something real bad. Having no idea Starscream was even here, he took a moment to wonder why his leader's beacon was not on when it should have been. He dove for Thundercracker, hoping to find any signs of life, but there was none.

"I… I'm sorry…" Starscream's voice was timid, almost a whisper.

Skywarp looked to him in question and Starscream quickly looked away and started to crawl pitifully further from his wing mate to what little shadows were provided, which weren't enough to hide him from his friend or his inner turmoil.

"What happened?" The black mech stared at Thundercracker as he spoke, as if the body would answer him. Starscream didn't answer him.

Skywarp adjusted his visuals to get a better view of his superior who looked absolutely horrified. Looking between Starscream and Thundercracker a couple of times, he couldn't help but notice fresh energon coming from Starscream's mouth as if he'd been _eating_ it. He hadn't ever seen _anyone_ eating someone else's energon from their bodies. Or why… How was that possible? It was a disgusting thought.

But why at his mouth of all places? Had they gotten into a fight? The black mech was unsure what to say, feeling overwhelmed at the moment from fear and shock, "'Who… _who did this_?"

"I didn't mean it… It wasn't my choice. He… he was the only one close, and I… and I…" Starscream stuttered with shame as he tried feebly to wipe away what energon was still on him. He deliberately stayed out of Skywarp's reach.

Huh? Since when did Starscream fumble over his words like that? "What do you mean 'it wasn't your choice', Starscream? What wasn't your choice?!"

Starscream shied back from Skywarp's questioning. He was mortified at what he'd done and Skywarp was making him feel even worse. "S-stop yelling, Skywarp. I can't help myself. I can't…" He paused with a loss of words, "I killed Thundercracker…"

Skywarp stared blankly, perhaps hoping for some form of joke, but none came. "What the _hell_ are you talking about, Starscream?" Anger mixed with confusion shook over his voice. How dare he even try to joke about something like that at a time like this? Skywarp stepped closer to his commander. From this distance he could tell Starscream was shaking badly.

Strangely, Starscream shuffled further away, "Get back! Stay away from me!" Out of his hand fell Thundercracker's spark system.

Skywarp froze and stared when his optics fell on it, unsure of what to think. Anger welled up in him at the sight. Just _why_ did he have Thundercracker's spark system in his hands and his energon all over him? Just what in the name of Primus had happened here? Had he actually killed Thundercracker after all? Could be possible… not Starscream. Maybe he'd hit his head or maybe they'd both been attacked and he thought Thundercracker had died because of something he'd done or failed to do. "You're really starting to worry me…"

Red optics looked right at Skywarp from the shadows as he said that. The black Seeker watched him look away as he looked back. Starscream could see the black Seeker's anger and knew he was vulnerable because he was so shaken up by the ordeal. He didn't want Skywarp taking his anger out on him for killing him. It wouldn't be pleasant. "It's not safe here. It'd be better if you just go," he told him, backing further into what shadows the buildings had to offer making him all but disappear where only his optics shown from the darkness. Things were becoming too risky. He didn't even want to chance Skywarp being around him. "You need to leave." His voice became soft. "Please go. Just please, _please_ go, 'Warp."

Was Starscream begging? How unusual "I…I can't Starscream!" Nothing made any sense! He needed to know what was going on! "Tell me what happened! I gotta know! Wh…who attacked you?" Concerned for his friend and wing mate, Skywarp took a step toward him again, this time he was standing next to Thundercracker's leg. Instinctively he glanced down, then back toward Starscream, whose optics followed.

Starscream's voice then became angry, hoping to chase the black mech off, "N-no one! I attacked him! _Me_!_ I_ killed Thundercracker! Now get out of here!" Starscream's fist struck the wall with such force it nearly buckled next to him. He now knew his time with Skywarp would also be limited as well. Quickly picking up the spark system that he'd dropped earlier, he threw it violently. He would rather him hate him for the rest of his life than become his next victim.

Skywarp put his arms up, deflecting the thing that was thrown. He hadn't seen clearly what it was until it clanged on the ground, making him look. He was stunned once again, this time from being hit by what appeared to be Thundercracker's spark system. He shivered in revulsion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing and he was so confused. Starscream was acting like some feral creature. He'd admitted to attacking and killing Thundercracker? "Wh… why would you do such a thing? It doesn't make any sense!"

Starscream moved slightly, refusing to answer. He didn't even know why he hadn't taken off yet. Maybe he was still hoping he wouldn't hurt Skywarp. But reality was reality, and it lay as a blue form on the ground at not far from where Starscream was trying to hide. "Please leave, 'Warp, I don't want to have to tell you again, I… I don't want to kill you too,"

Skywarp immediately backed up. What was he saying? Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. "You're sick, you need help. Let's get you back to medical."

"There is nothing that can be done." With that, Starscream flew off.

Skywarp wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do. He looked back at Thundercracker's body and wandered to where Starscream had been hiding, seeing if there were any clues as to what Starscream was talking about. There was no answer but energon on the ground.

_Somebody help me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself  
Somebody wake me from this nightmare  
I can't escape this hell_

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_Yeah, no idea where the title came from. I lucked a word from my scatter-brain lol  
__Hope it was spooky enough for you :D_

_More to come..._


	2. The Illogical Meeting

**A/N**: _Halloween is right around the corner! And so am I! Ha, made ya look ^^_

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_Previously:_

It began just after an incredible meeting that logically never should have happened in the first place. If anything, it was an accident. But, this accident would change his life forever.

He'd been tinkering with a machine, actually. Being he had a scientific mind, when he wasn't busy being Megatron's scapegoat, he was doing different things in the laboratory that was provided for him. This machine was supposed to be an upgrade for the space bridge, if he could get it working. When the day came for him to test it, it didn't do what a space bridge was supposed to do.

Either he was too close to it, or it just malfunctioned, he didn't know, what he did know is he was suddenly not in his lab. He was on a floor on his aft where he felt like he'd been dropped. At least it _looked_ like a floor. His vision had small sparkles in the peripherals and he took a moment to wait for it to disappear. As it faded, he found himself in what appeared to be a cave. Confused, he carefully got to his feet and looked around. Where in the pit was he and how had he gotten to wherever here was? Was he dreaming? Spotting light, he looked down what appeared to be a corridor and figuring he might as well see if he could find some answers, or in the least bit, find his way out he cautiously headed in that direction. And that was when he heard it. He heard someone talking. Their dialect was off, but there was in fact two of them as far as he could tell. Curious and seeing if maybe they could tell him where he was and how to get home, he stepped cautiously down the tunnel.

As he came to the glowing, what appeared to be a room greeted him and there were two mechs there. They looked nothing like anyone he'd ever seen in his life. They were both rather large, too. Neither had a Decepticon or Autobot symbol on them and their optics were amber in color. The first one glanced over at him and the second one followed suit. He stopped at their glares. By the looks of them and the looks they were giving him, he felt he'd stumbled onto something he shouldn't have. Both appeared to be very angry at his presence. "Who are you?"

"M-my name's S-Starscream," He spoke feebly. Who were these two mechs?

"What are you doing here?" asked the larger purple one.

He was asking himself that very question. "I uh… I'm not sure," Starscream responded, not even sure what to say.

As if the black and red one knew where he was from, he shouted as he stood, "You're not supposed to be here!"

"I'd be glad to find my way out if I knew where to go?" It's not like he chose to be here in the first place.

The larger one looked to the red and black one, "Just kill him," he demanded in almost a statement.

"Wait, wait! I don't know where I am! How I even got here! Surely, there's no need to be so rash!"

The black and red one approached him and surprising the seeker, put his arm around his shoulders. He didn't see the look in the other's optics, being he was scared out of his mind. He winced at the touch and the mech's grip tightened on him. "Well, he does seem a little lost. Perhaps I will just send him back to his dimension with a parting gift for intruding on us. Just killing him is no fun."

The other mech laughed. It was a dark, sadistic laugh – one that spells real bad news. Starscream didn't like the sounds of that. Not at all. What did they have in mind? He'd be happy to just get out of here – alive. "Pa-parting gift? It's okay, I don't want one. I just want to go home!"

The black and red mech reached out to the stunned Seeker and grabbed his head. The tight grip made Starscream wince, wondering if he was going to crush him and then the mech mumbled something he didn't quite understand. He'd heard the words, but they didn't make any sense to him. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor of his lab once more, the machine he'd been working on was on fire.

Disoriented and even more confused, given it was even possible, the Seeker slid backwards, not even looking where he was, only that he'd been released. 'His dimension'? Had he heard that right? It took him a few moments to realize he was back in his lab and the fire on the machine was going to cause a problem if he didn't put it out.

Not even giving himself time to think about what had occurred, he quickly got to his feet and got something to put the fire out with. There went the machine, and there went his sanity.

After the fire was put out, he stood there in a stupor, trying to absorb what had happened. Where had he gone? How long was he gone for? Just what had transpired between him and that ugly fucker who'd grabbed him? It must have been a dream because that was just too unreal. The Seeker made his way home and laid down on his berth, though he didn't sleep right away.

His nightmare started not long afterwards. He woke the next morning with a killer headache and his internals felt like they were on fire. As he groggily sat up, he felt extreme dizziness. Taking a moment to collect himself, he turned to stand, trying to shake off the ugly feeling that hounded him. He continued on his day, the feelings never completely disappearing.

That night, the strange feelings began. It almost felt like his body required sustenance, but he was positive he'd had his fill that day. It was a sensation unfamiliar to him and the longer he tried to ignore it, the more persistent it became. Time went on and he'd privately asked the medic about it, but the medic told him not to worry about it and whatever it was would pass, but it did not. _Something_ was obviously terribly wrong. Was it because of that 'dream'? Having lost his confidence in the medics after several visits, he began to simply ignore it. This gave little relief and he soon found himself in pain beginning in his chest and soon throughout his body. His problems only worsened when the urges began. They were odd ones too. Urges for sustenance that did not come from seeking energon. It went on for days like this. Sometimes the pain would be so unbearable the seeker would curl up tightly and whimper to himself. Skywarp and Thundercracker told him to see a medic, but he refused, telling them that the medics had no idea what was wrong with him. They were concerned for him the more they found him like this. He hadn't told them about his dream, either.

Strangely enough, a new symptom arose. It happened when he spoke to others. His optics constantly went to their chest from a distracting small blue light that persistently stayed. It intrigued him because with different mechs, came different colors or brightness of lights. He didn't notice his watching, but others did. However their view of it was that Starscream just didn't want to look them in the optic – so it was passed off as nothing.

He then became annoyed because he could not sleep and that something was getting stronger, yet he still could not define what it was. Lying awake one night, he decided he'd figured it out. It was a hunger. One he could not place.

* * *

Finally, he'd snapped. A fight had broken out just moments prior. He had no control over himself, and since the lights were dim to begin with, no one saw the drastic change.

It was some random mech he didn't know, but whatever it was made Starscream twitch, and in the fray, he nearly fell on the mech, but the mech caught him. Overcome by whatever was building, Starscream savagely attacked him, tearing at him, ripping at him until his Spark casing had cracked, and that was when he'd found it. He stared hungrily at the dying Spark and for some reason he wasn't even sure of, he reached down and touched it. His hand contracted and something very weird happened. His optics changed drastically, and a look crossed his features of pure malice. From under his claws grew thin snake-like cables that attached to the Spark casing and began sucking the rest of the Spark's power.

Starscream didn't care what he was doing now, being basically out of his mind. He just knew he was feeling better and didn't want to stop – he couldn't stop. He sucked the life out of the mech that was propped up against the wall. It was the first time he'd ever given into the hunger.

Afterward, he came to his senses, wondering what had happened. The last he knew, he was in the alley with a mech, one that had started a fight with him. Looking down at himself, he saw energon spattered over him. Frightened by it, he leaned to look down the alley for clues and that was when he saw what appeared to be the mech. He made his way to the body, feeling like he'd been hit by a starship.

The closer he got, the more horrified he'd become by what he saw. There was just something _wrong_ with how this mech looked. It was obvious he was dead, but it was nothing short of disgusting on how he'd been killed. His body was torn by what seemed to be some feral creature. His chest looked as though it had been the target of the attack. Oddly enough the spark casing was completely dismembered from the body, lying further away.

Without warning, as Starscream glanced over him, he got flashes of memory, showing him what had happened to the mech. _He_ had killed the mech. It took him a moment to grasp what he'd done, he broke down with confusion and horror. Quickly backing away and looking around himself with paranoia, he wondered… Did anyone see this? He panicked, shuffling to his feet, he took off. As fast as he could and as far as he could, he flew, wondering what he was going to do.

He'd made his way to the outskirts of the Decepticon territory, where he knew no one often went. The mech rested, slunk against a rock wall, happy to be away from where body of the mech he'd killed lay. Energon still dripped from him in various places. He felt so… dirty. No… it was worse than that. The mech looked to this his hands which also dripped. What _was_ he? His optics wandered to the sky, where other stars shined brilliantly. It mustn't have been a dream after all. This couldn't be.

He quickly got to his feet, stumbling over his own fear of what he had become. He had to get this sick off of himself! The seeker sought out the closest river and headed for it. He needed to be ready for Megatron come later on, and he'd really get it if he was late.

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_Until next time... mwahaha!_


	3. Search for the Cure

**A/N**: _Been putting a lot of work into SS. Sorry bout the slow update :) And what, does hardly anyone review anymore? Ah well, at least I still know ya like this, regardless :D_

_And without further ado, njoy this next chapt!_

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After killing Thundercracker, Starscream knew he had to do something. The curse that was set upon him was taking control of him badly. His cravings became more severe and his body changes became more menacing. He couldn't go on living like this. Especially, when he was now conscious of what he was doing while he attacked others. It appalled him to no end and he began growing a big distaste in himself for his uncontrollable actions.

Finally deciding after his next kill that he was going to do something about this wretched curse, Starscream returned to his labs where the scorch marks from the blown Space Bridge technology constantly reminded him of his venture. Taking various equipment with him, he chose a place no one would bother him and set up shop. He needed the time alone to try to figure a way out of this. There, he broke out different serums and injectors. Setting everything he thought he would need for the time being to the side, he reached for a different injector and dipped it into one of his energon veins in his arm. Extracting the liquid, he glanced at it, then put it on what one might consider a Petri dish and set it under a microscope to have a look.

What surprised him the most, and funny he hadn't noticed it before, was that his energon was tainted purple. Magnifying down to the molecule to see why, what he found was rather remarkable, to say the least. He could readily identify his energon molecules, but it was the other things floating around in there that piqued his interest. He figured these other _things_ were the root of his problem. There were two different ones, in fact. One was red and another black. The black ones adhered to his energon, and he figured that was why his energon was tinted. Reaching for a separate tube which had regular energon not from him in it, he put a drop in to see what would happen. Almost immediately, the black particles multiplied and attached to the new energon, infecting it, while the red ones seemed to do nothing at all.

For a few joors, he tested his energon against samples not of his origin with chemicals to begin with to see if he could get rid of these unknown anomalies by simple means. For all he knew it could be eradicated with simple mixes of acids or some such thing. He used acids first to try to dispel them without harming his own energon, but it didn't work. No matter how strong the acids became, these particles evolved and became immune to it to the point his energon was destroyed, but the particles remained. Some other tests he ran with chemicals that were used in warfare to see if he could kill them with that, but usually, he ended up destroying the energon or the dish he was working in. With these tests, he concluded that if he exposed himself to these chemicals, he would ultimately turn into a forever monster or it would kill him. Though, come to think of it, dying didn't seem like too crazy of a plan – it would get him out of the hell he was learning to live now.

Breems grew to joors, joors grew to deca-cycles while he continued to try to find a cure. It became an obsession he did every waking breem that he wasn't doing bidding for Megatron or feeding. He fed when he needed to and even took some of their energon to test with, but the ones he fed on no one would miss anyway. He felt guilty each time, but in a way he felt he was accomplishing something since he'd return to his lab to continue his work, using what he could from his feedings to try to progress.

Time had passed and he'd made little progress. He'd returned to his post with the Decepticons when he had to, and only when he knew there was no danger of him attacking anyone and gaining suspicion – lest his secret be revealed. All around, the Decepticons and the Autobots alike were aware something or someone was killing others and they didn't seem to target a faction. Both were equally interested in finding the killer, but neither had accomplished squat. Optimus Prime simply wanted to stop the killer, Megatron on the other hand…

Over time, the few things he did find out was, one, the black and red particles seemed to come to life on their own around the same time he craved his 'other sustenance' as he preferred to call it. Another, was the fact they seemed to be_ completely_ indestructible. He figured from that that he wouldn't die in the sense of actual death, but what he discovered before – he'd become a full time monster, something he did _not_ want. The mech also realized one other thing. While these particles were in his energon, he was in fact, immortal, for they revitalized him and healed him in remarkable time.

Continuing to try to find a cure to calm the savage beast within him, he tested and tested and retested, each time with unwanted results. "No…" he said to himself as he tilted his head and looked closely at the container. Wrong again. "No… no, no, no,_ no_! This can't be!" He became more aggravated as more results yielded nothing. It was becoming more and more apparent that there was no cure, and it scared him.

About to give up on his endeavor, depressed beyond all means and coming to terms that he may always be like this, the seeker finally got a breakthrough. Starscream came up with a partial substitute to his problem. He dipped the injector he used only for this purpose into his Energon line then pressed the plunger. After several tests on himself, he finally found a partial substitute. The urges within him weren't as strong and it would disappear altogether if it was ignored. There was a side effect to this serum he had created, however. It would cause debilitating weakness and severe pain while his body adjusted to it.

Before he went around anyone else, he hid to make sure he survived the ordeal. He survived the throes and now knew he had a stable solution to his problem. Problem slightly solved, he made several injectors, some more potent than the others, seeing as he was now sensing live spark strengths and hunting upon which he needed.

Little did the Starscream know, he was being watched. Megatron had become curious of his disappearance at different times or how quickly he left, and he always went back to the same laboratory. He'd ordered Soundwave to send one of his symbiots to spy on the Second in Command and find out just what exactly he was up to.

In little time, Laserbeak, who'd been the one to spy on him, had done his job, reporting back to Soundwave everything he'd recorded or heard. It was evident that Starscream was testing something, though he couldn't identify what he was testing at the time, and that the tests seemed to be mainly with his own energon – which looked different from normal energon. This brought up a red flag with Soundwave, who was interested more in what Starscream was doing.

It was quickly summarized that something was wrong with Starscream, and although the Communications Officer could identify some of it, some questions still remained unanswered. So, the next time he sent Laserbeak, he also sent Frenzy to get samples. Low and behold, once Frenzy broke into the lab while Starscream was away, Soundwave, after quietly analyzing some of the samples from his lab, was now onto Starscream's dirty little secret – even if it didn't make any sense.

The readings he did find only came to some farfetched conclusions. Starscream's energon was infected with something indestructible. This indestructible substance could not be identified by conventional means. One he garnered access into Vector Sigma, breaking into files that were firewalled almost past his own capabilities, Soundwave came to somewhat of an answer. He didn't believe it himself, except the evidence was right in front of him. Checking and then re-checking with the files of ancient history, Soundwave concluded that Starscream had what appeared to be an ancient curse set upon him – one that technically shouldn't have been real. Curses were fairy tales; stories to scare others, but that was that. So if it were true, that begged the question of who had set the curse and why? How the pit did it happen? What had Starscream done so badly to get a curse like this?

It would answer a lot of questions as to why he was acting so strange and certainly explained Thundercracker's death. He now knew who was a fault and why. He also knew Megatron would want Starscream in for questioning, especially finding he was the elusive killer. Soundwave waited a while before bringing his findings to Megatron, who was disturbingly pleased to hear the news.

* * *

_Well, I guess Megatron would have found out eventually, anyway. He finds out everything when Soundwave is invoved._


	4. The Findings

**A/N**: _Wow, it has been a day. With that day, I bring you this :D_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

It had been going on for quite some time with no answers. The Autobots had nothing to really go by when it came to the unknown killer and who it was. Some suspected it to be a Decepticon, but even that was pushing it, since the reports of this murderer showed they didn't care if they were Autobot or Decepticon they killed. No one had any solid proof since they usually found the victims too late to get any solid evidence. The only way they knew it had to be the same one, was the spark chambers had been torn from the body. That is… until now.

A body was found on the outskirts of Tyger Pax. It wasn't hugely unusual to find a body lying somewhere that had been killed, however this was a most unusual killing. They'd heard tales about mechs and femmes alike being brutally killed, but not much more information came than that – as there was none. If not anything else, this particular one was grotesque. The body had been torn apart, especially where the spark resides. Energon was everywhere and there were even signs of a struggle – not that one wouldn't struggle when faced with death.

The lights above the alley weren't the greatest and left many shadows surrounding them. In fact, the most annoying thing about it was one of them kept flickering, which was nothing short of a distraction they really didn't need. "Hey Hound?" a voice carried, "I think you need to come see this," Lights moved from the spot as well, showing the mech was using his lights to see what had gotten the locals upset.

Hound looked up toward said voice, "What is it?" For some reason he felt dread, but wasn't sure why. If anything, it was like any other call.

"Eh, it s a little hard to explain. Are there any large wild creatures reported in the vicinity?"

"Not as far as I have noticed." Hound replied, now curious why Sideswipe would ask such a question. He finally got closer and stopped in his tracks, horror showing in his face at the sight. "_What_ in the name of all that's holy is this?"

Sideswipe backed up from the grizzly scene, "I think it's whoever has been doing the killings. I hadn't seen any myself, but don't know what else could have done such damage,"

Hound leaned down, even though his mind was screaming at him to get away from this place, but something odd stopped him. "Where's his spark system?" Was this a victim of the unknown killer?

"I don't know," Sideswipe replied with a quick look around hoping he might spot it.

"Everyone," Hound turned to the others who were hanging back, "do a wide area search and find his spark chamber," he ordered, then turned back to the body, "There's no way anything could or would take off with an entire spark system." His voice was more of a mumble as if he were trying to convince himself. "It takes some precision to get it out. As if someone knows what they're doing,"

"You think it might be an actual mech after all?"

"I don't know why anyone would do such a thing, but I also don't put it past them – Especially if it's a Decepticon."

"Eh, even Decepticons wouldn't go this far. This is… is…" He didn't even have a word for what it was besides desecration of the worse kind.

A few minutes later, the system was found further down the alley. It also appeared to be shredded and drained. The one who picked it up took one look at it and dropped it, fear crossing his face, "This is impossible,"

Hound heard something and looked up, seeing one of his men who seemed to be petrified from something. He left the body and headed for the other mech. As he got closer, he saw what had upset his associate. He wasn't sure if it was morbid interest or if he wanted to get to the bottom of this, maybe both, but either way, he picked up the spark chamber and system.

All spark systems always have residual energy in the spark system and usually lasts for deca-cycles after the body is killed. This is a big indicator to how the mech or femme died. This spark system was not only torn out of its body, but it had no energy in it whatsoever – and it hadn't been but a few joors. It looked as if it had been sucked completely clean. How in the Pit does that happen?

It was disgusting to him to think that someone actually drained their energy, but then why? It was useless anyway. He passed the thought that someone would consume the energy, as that kind of stuff didn't exist.

The more Hound inspected this death, the more confused he was becoming. "Take all of it to Central and wait for me there. Have Ratchet check it out as soon as you can. He'll be interested to find a recent kill and might get more information as to what in the pit is going on around here. I'm going to see if anyone noticed anything unusual."

"You got it," Sideswipe covered the body in a almost liquid silver sheet and wrapped it up. He called Ratchet ahead of time, so he knew to be ready and had the body taken to his medical labs for analysis.

No one could figure this out.

It was kept as a secret from mainstream information because of the panic that would spread in the smaller cities. It was bad enough that there was a war going on, let alone some creature killing mechs and femmes alike and taking all traces of their residual spark energy.

* * *

Back at Central, Ratchet had done an autopsy of sorts on a couple of the mechs or femmes that had been killed to see if he could glean more about how the elusive mech was killing others. He found the usual battering, claw marks and whatnot. So far, he'd had no answers and most of the bodies that were brought back to him weren't substantial evidence to rule out what all had been done.

Once he got this new mech, it was new enough to get more and different readings from them. His findings were nothing short of unbelievable but what had him absolutely confounded was the missing residual spark energy. How was it being taken? And if so, the victim had to be alive for it to happen. Doing some digging and coming up with nothing, Ratchet turned to the only other computer that might have something on this. It had to be somewhere, as he had never heard of it before.

As he accessed Vector Sigma, it immediately showed that it had recently been hacked into. The only ones who would have to hack, would be the Decepticons. Following the information on this hack, he realized someone else was also highly interested in this killer, but the trail went cold, so he had to search on his own. After a while of trudging through the files and folders, he finally came upon something that might be a hit. It was labeled 'Myths of Sickness'. Sickness was rather unheard of on Cybertron, so of course, curious if this might have what he was looking for, he opened it up. To his amazement, he found similarities that made him think twice about myths actually being fake. Several were listed that he read up on, though none of them had the symptoms he was looking for.

Finally, he came upon one called 'The Fallen's Curse'. Curses, as well, were unheard of, and he figured it was just a name attached to a sickness for reference. It was an ancient curse, said to have been put on those who'd disobeyed Unicron _and_ those who sided with him, which to him, made very little sense. It turned the victims into basically a vampiric mech that fed off the energy of living sparks, taking all of the spark energy, down to the residual energies that were missing from the mechs and femmes that had been found. These beings also took on physical changes, often into something more hideous than the Decepticons currently looked sometimes. Seeing about the ridding of this creature, Ratchet came across something that he did not like. They could not be cured, nor could they be killed by any conventional means. The only sure way to get rid of them was to exile them to a distant planet, where they would eventually starve to death.

It was written that Charr was the planet of choice for exile, and there they were kept. Eventually they all killed themselves out, and thus started the story of Charr and why one should never go there. He turned to his data pad that he'd been keeping notes on, "Prime will want to hear about this," he said to himself as he looked it over again.

* * *

_So now the Autobots got an idea of what's going on, but still no clue as to who's doing it._


	5. Megatron's Plan

**A/N**: _So soon? Why, yes. Not that it's a bad thing, hey? :D_

_Enjoy._

* * *

He hadn't expected to be standing where he was. He knew he'd been singled out for a reason. Soundwave, who have told Megatron about him, stood not far off and Megatron was standing by his 'throne' seat as he liked to call it. He'd been called in before a mission and now he stood, a little apprehensive, as usually when Soundwave was here, it was because he'd done something that required punishment.

"Starscream," Megatron turned from where he was apparently admiring a wall. His face held somewhat that of amusement, but the seeker wasn't entirely sure why. "It seems you and I have something to discuss,"

Starscream stood at attention when he'd heard his name. It was said in that cocky 'I know something you don't know' voice, such a way that now he knew to be scared, "What would that be, Lord Megatron?" he said almost meekly. Oh, how he hated calling him that, but to stay on his good side, he did what he had to.

"Soundwave has brought up something with me about you he thought I would like,"

Starscream glanced at said mech, then looked back to Megatron, "What?"

Before Megatron answered him, he looked to the door where two other mechs had arrived, "Take him to the brig." He then looked at Starscream with a spiteful smirk, "Looks like you have a 'get out of work free passcard', today,"

"Wha?" Starscream asked as his arms were grabbed by the two mechs, "Me? Why, Megatron? What have a done?"

"I want to make sure you don't try to escape on one of your _gallivants_," He nodded to the ones behind the seeker who began pulling him backwards.

Starscream then felt something hit his head and it hurt. The pain was so excruciating that his processors were thrown for a loop and he lost his balance, almost falling to the ground. He felt his body lifted as he was caught, but didn't know what happened next, as he'd blacked out.

* * *

As Soundwave walked with Megatron, he filled him in on the other bits of information he'd yet to supply, since he was still extensively studying this strange curse. After researching all of the information, he finally had a story to tell and boy was it a whopper. "Starscream has been diagnosed with what was called 'The Fallen's Curse',"

Hearing this, Megatron lit up. He'd heard of such a thing a long time ago. "Well, well, well, one who actually lives with the curse…? It was just a story. How can you be so sure?"

"I did testing and took some samples while he was out of the lab and confirmed after hacking into Vector Sigma," Soundwave replied. The scientific part of it was extraordinary itself and he would like it to be studied more, but he knew Megatron would want to keep the seeker for his own sick purposes.

"Is that so…" There was a dark chuckle from Megatron, "Well, then, I'm glad I kept Starscream around, then. That… _unusual_ behavior of his will come in most useful in my next attack…"

"I suggest you err on the side of caution, Lord Megatron. It is said those that are cursed are nothing short of demons themselves. They cannot be controlled after a certain point." The mech made a sour face, "Not to mention they are quite… hideous in how they feed." Soundwave wouldn't admit it, but the thought of cannibalism was revolting to him.

"How is it done?"

"It's rather simple, actually. They feed off of others' sparks, taking all traces of it."

Megatron grimaced, finding the idea repulsive himself. He didn't care for more details on how Starscream killed, just that he did. "That's why I will control him once he's fed and brought back to me. Keep him chained him up, and let's see what happens. Can he be starved?"

"Starving him most dangerous, sir. You do realize the ice you tread, I hope," Soundwave warned again.

"I am Megatron! Better than some spark-stealing mech! He cannot harm me!"

The mech gave Megatron a doubtful glance. He might be sorry he underestimated the curse. "I must point out that a cursed mech was supposedly the cause of Prima's death. How long do you plan to starve him?"

"Let's test him out, shall we?"

"The longer you wait, the more voracious he will become,"

That sounded most pleasant. "That's good. That means the more he will kill. How often does he have to feed?"

"That is unknown yet. He has not shown signs of hunger since he was taken to the brig," Soundwave informed, "I have looked up the rate of bodies found with this particular way of killing and he goes sometimes two or three deca-cycles at most,"

"When was his last kill?"

"Judging by what was confiscated from his laboratory, I think he's found somewhat of a solution to his problem, as it's been at least ten deca-cycles since there were any other reported sightings,"

"Well, let's go find out, shall we?" Megatron finally said with a sadistic gleam in his optic.

* * *

When he came to, he found himself shackled, not only be his wrists, but his wings and his legs and his feet. His back was against the wall, and with a small tug, he realized he was held there rather firmly. He tried a few more times to pull himself free, but to no avail.

There was a guard at the door who hadn't moved as of yet, "What's going on? Why am I in here?"

There was no answer from the guard, as if he hadn't heard him.

"Answer me!"

"Starscream," A voice came. It was condescending as always. Starscream glanced in the general direction, dreading the fact Megatron was coming and there wasn't a damned thing he could do.

The seeker looked up as Megatron rounded the corner. Disgust was clear on his features, "Why am I shackled like this? What did I do this time?"

"Such a trivial question, Starscream," Megatron grinned, opening the door to his cell. "You should be asking me which territory you will be attacking next,"

Starscream's optic ridges furrowed as he considered what Megatron was talking about. "What do you mean? Honestly these chains aren't necessary. What have I done?"

"Don't play me for a fool, Starscream. I know your little _secret_."

If Starscream could have paled, now would have been that time. _'No! That's impossible!'_ He remained silent and stoic. Did Skywarp turn his back on him perhaps because of Thundercracker… Either way, it was no longer secret. "Secret? What secret?" He tried to act confused, but wasn't sure how well that was working out.

Reading past his face, Megatron asked with sarcasm, "Surprised, are you? You can't do anything without my knowing about it, Starscream, how many times must you learn this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Starscream tried to lie.

Megatron didn't even want to hear it. He knew for sure now. "You've been cursed, haven't you, Starscream?"

Continuing to try to lie his way out, the seeker asked, "Cursed? Cursed with what? What do you mean?"

"Don't try to play stupid with me. That curse was said to be a myth. A fairytale to scare the younglings. I don't think anyone has seen anyone alive with the curse before, and if they did, they must not have lived to tell their tale."

"Still no idea what you're talking about," The seeker murmured as he looked away.

Megatron, tired of his game, backhanded him hard. Starscream growled quietly at the hit. "Stop lying to me! You killed Thundercracker, didn't you?"

Starscream's look of surprise and sadness was obvious.

"Ah, so it _was_ you…" Megatron's grin widened, "Thought I wouldn't find out, did you?"

"And just what do you plan to do with me now that you've found me out?" He figured Megatron would have him executed for something but nothing could have been farther from the truth. An execution would be a relief compared to what his leader had in mind. In fact, an execution would be a blessing compared to it.

"Actually, finding out that you've got this curse, I think I will have more use for you now,"

Starscream snorted, not wanting to even entertain the thought. He was more concerned in how Megatron found out. His optics glanced to Soundwave and he stared at him a long moment. It had to be him and his creepy little followers. He knew Megatron was onto him now – most likely because of the telepathic slagger. Glaring at Megatron with resentment, his voice then became cocky. He thought he would control him? Really? Obviously, Megatron did not know who or what he was really dealing with. "You think so, do you?"

"Oh yes. You will be my secret weapon against Optimus Prime,"

Megatron really was a fool. "You're sick. You can't just set me free in an area and expect me to attack. Maybe you should figure out how it works before you start planning on how to use me."

At that, another sadistic grin overcame the tyrant and he leaned close. "Oh, no, Starscream. That would be too easy, and I know you… you'd flee. No, I plan to starve you before I send you out…"

The only reason they had him penned up was because it was for their safety – Not his. And he knew it. "Why don't you remain in here with me while you starve me. I promise you'll be sorry."

Megatron gave him a dirty look, "I think two or three hungers even. I will stand and watch you from the other side, just to see how you act,"

"I much rather you stay in here with me,"

Ignoring Starscream's goading, Megatron replied, "Then when I do set you free in the Autobot territory, there is no question you will kill in numbers until you've got your fill. I know you have been using a serum to hide your curse, but being in here with no way to get to it and no way out will insure my plans."

"And here I thought you were stupid before. You have sure proved me wrong with the idiocy that spews from you now," Yes, he was being brave, but he also knew Megatron couldn't kill him, so why not? He'd heal far faster than Megatron could really hurt him, so what did he have to lose?

Megatron smirked at the seeker's obvious bravery. Soundwave's stance change as he looked at Starscream, picking up bizarre and erratic readings from him. Megatron, who'd looked to Soundwave because of his movement, looked back at Starscream.

The CO spoke up, watching while he studied him. Was Starscream going to change before them, here and now? "Lord Megatron, something is happening to him. I'd advise you step out of the cell."

* * *

_So Megatron's got him. And he's got a plan... who wants to bet Starscream might get himself some Meggy spark? Yummy..._


	6. Bearing Witness

**A/N**: _Whelp, this should prove interesting ^^_

_Hehe... Enjoy!_

* * *

"_Lord Megatron, something is happening to him. I'd advise you step out of the cell." _

There was a sudden silence in Starscream and his head dropped as if he'd gone offline. Megatron and Soundwave could tell that he wasn't completely offline, as he was twitching and his body was still rigid, other than that, to them, he seemed to be out of it. The two watched to see what would happen.

A second later, Starscream's head rose and his optics furrowed at them both. They seemed to burn with a strange, hungering rage neither of them had ever seen before. Becoming brighter, his optics flicked to them both as if gauging them. At that same moment, his body color darkened, turning him into a dark gray, nearly black creature, leaving very little of him with any silver. The rest of his body grew spikes at his joints and down his arms to the tips of his fingers. In his mouth, Sharp teeth-like protrusions appeared and elongated, obviously used for feeding purposes. His claws grew longer and more talon-like. Little did anyone know just yet, but also his strength increased, as did his speed. There was a shrill shriek from him, one like a banshee would make. There was no mistaking that sound now. It had been heard before, but no one knew what it was.

Megatron, stunned still by this transformation, forgot about leaving the cell as Soundwave had advised, far more interested in watching his new weapon with eagerness. He wanted to see Starscream at his full, cursed splendor, and _this_ was it.

Further away, Soundwave was studying everything Starscream was doing to learn as much as he could about him while in this different state. The SiC acted so much differently than before, as if his mind was completely gone. The CO found himself instinctually stepping back from the cell himself. The readings he was getting were off the charts! He had to admit that this was frightening, even to him. Stealing a glance at Megatron whose smirk seemed to widen at the sight, he had to wonder why, since he was still in the cell with Starscream, not having heeded his warning.

"You sure have turned hideous, haven't you, Starscream?" Megatron noted, seeing what reaction, if any at all, he would get.

The reaction he got was not what he was expecting. He watched in astonishment as Starscream, having already decided upon an attack hissed with a snarl and yanked his left arm free of the chains with little effort and he swiped the air in front of him, reaching for the Decepticon leader. He lightly pulled at the other restraints, pretending the others were too tough for him to break, knowing Megatron was within striking distance and that he might come closer. Megatron dodged the swipe and backed up a step seeing Starscream's attempt to break the rest, not expecting anything more. Perhaps the chain on his arm was weak and that was why Starscream had broken that one so easily. The leader grinned arrogantly.

The mech glared at the chains on his other arm and then looked to the ones who thought they were keeping him bound. There was another strange, sinister hiss from him as his darkened gaze fixed on the mech before him. Starscream gave Megatron an evil smile followed with an Energon-thirsty look no one was sure they could place. It made half of his men who were supposedly just as Energon-thirsty, look weak in comparison. The leader's spark was right before him and he would have it. He quickly lunged again, ripping free of all the other upper chains and went to pounce on Megatron, getting him by a leg, causing him to fall. The seeker wasted no time in trying to get to his spark chamber.

Megatron, caught off guard because he didn't think Starscream had that kind of strength, felt the Seeker's claws on his leg as they dug and ripped into his armor, and he was pulling him toward himself, having not broken the chains on his legs just yet. He let out a hiss as Starscream's claws tore energon lines deep where he'd had him. "Starscream! You insolent fool! Unhand me!"

Realizing Megatron was in danger, Soundwave quickly stepped forward, reaching for Starscream who ignored him and hell bent on getting to Megatron's spark. He'd tried to use a couple of different weapons on Starscream but nothing seemed to work. The seeker seemed to only shrug them off as though they were nothing as he continued his assault, and they were pretty disabling to larger mechs than himself. Just how powerful had Starscream become?

Starscream's grip tightened as Megatron tried to get free and he pulled, his craving putting him into frenzy as he fought the much larger mech to himself. "Your spark! _Mine_!"

Megatron, realizing he was being overpowered, turned and kicked at Starscream's face, hoping to get him to let go, but Starscream did not, obviously used to being defended against. The seeker used his claws on his other hand to shred down the offending leg as the leader tried to pull away. "Soundwave, do something!" As he said that Starscream grabbed his hip joints, ripping whatever relays might have been there and started reaching for his chest, digging his claws as he did so. Megatron aimed his main weapon on his right arm at Starscream, not thinking twice about firing.

Lucky for Megatron, that shot was enough to get Starscream to let go in shock and the leader scampered out of that cell before Starscream could clutch him again. He'd barely made it when Starscream broke all of the other chains in his rampage for him and went for the door as well, still going after Megatron, but all he got was a door in the face by Soundwave, abruptly stopping him. The seeker looked at the bars and then to his missed opportunity, giving a slight tug to see if the door would move. "Let me out of here," he hissed, realizing he wasn't getting out. Still staring down the two mechs who were watching him, he had no fear whatsoever, and seemed malicious instead of just barbaric. "Let me out _now_!" He tried pulling harder on the bars, using more strength to pry them apart. To Megatron and Soundwave's surprise, the bars began to bend but they did not break. There was a look in Starscream's dark optics as he realized he wasn't getting out by these means. "You can't keep me in here forever! I won't let you!"

Megatron, after composing himself and coming to terms that Starscream was a lot more powerful than he gave him credit for, smirked and then leaned back with a large laugh because the seeker had missed, pretty much. He made especially sure he was not in the seeker's reach. "You will never get out! You hear me? _Never_! Suffer for attacking me like that! How dare you!"

Frustrated, Starscream attacked the bars with a crash and another feral scream, his optics on the chest of the leader. "Give it to me!"

Confident he wouldn't get attacked again; Megatron returned to his conceited attitude and asked cockily, "Give you what, Starscream?"

"Give it! Give me your spark or so help me I will rip it out of you as painfully as possible!" The seeker hissed as he reached as far as he could out toward Megatron. Soundwave watched, happy he wasn't close to the mech now.

"My, my, what a feisty monster you are," Megatron sneered. "That was your one and only chance, Starscream, and as always, you failed. You're lucky I don't kill you for that!"

Starscream's hand slashed the air almost quicker than anyone could follow as he tried to reach the one before him. Missing, he pulled his hand back, waiting for the next time for one of them to come too close.

"Should we feed him now?" Soundwave asked, apprehensive of his 'condition'.

Megatron looked to Soundwave then back to Starscream saying, "Why? If this is the start of it, I want to see how much worse he will get. I want to make sure he doesn't screw around on his next mission."

Soundwave was unsure why Megatron would taunt this highly dangerous creature. He'd almost had him, and one would think he'd take that as a hint. "He's completely feral, it seems,"

"Yet he speaks. He knows what's going on. I'm interested to know how aware he really is."

"Perhaps he is entirely sentient while in this altered state; he just cannot control his actions,"

Starscream listened to them, although his mind was on their sparks and how he could get to them and not what they were talking about. Just then, another spark signature grabbed his attention and he looked over at a new target. The signature wasn't quite what he'd wanted but it would do. He stood back slightly, giving the impression he would not attack.

"Megatron! I heard noises! Is everyth-" the mech stopped upon seeing the one in the cell, "What is going on? Who is this?"

Megatron watched Starscream's attention switch and as the mech got close to his cell and whether it was morbidity or spur of the moment, he suddenly reached out with a leg and shoved him into Starscream's reach and Starscream quickly snared him. With a gleam in his optic, he said, "Meet the new and improved Starscream."

The crazy seeker pulled his prey against the bars of the cell tightly with one arm wrapped about his neck, effectively pinning him. The mech reached up in fear and confusion as he was grabbed, trying to pry his assailant's arm off, failing against Starscream's brute strength. Glaring up at Megatron with a sadistic, thankful grin – one wouldn't think the Seeker could possess, Starscream then with his other hand, reached around the now struggling mech and proceeded to dig his claws deep into his chest as he screamed. Wasting no time, he dug until he'd latched onto the mech's spark system and ripped it out, dropped the body and turned with his prize.

Megatron, at first frowning in revulsion, as he thought about the fact Starscream would have done the same thing to himself, smiled darkly as he watched Starscream's back while he devoured the spark energy in morbid fascination. "Perfect," he purred.

After having his fill, a few moments later Starscream's looks reverted back to the way he was and turned away from Megatron, squatting on the floor. He knew the instant it had happened and didn't dare turn to look directly at Megatron. Instead, he stole a glance from the corner of his optic, seeing the injuries he had done to him. In his vision, something else caught his attention and he looked for a moment longer, making sure he saw what he thought he saw, though he gave no indication that he saw it either. The Autobots got quite a show, didn't they…? A tiny smirk played on his face as he turned his head back around. He idly wondered what Optimus Prime would think of his darker side. Also satisfied that Megatron was bleeding from a couple of places, his optics went back to the spark chamber in front of him. His optics then followed the trail of energon to the body next to the cell. Yes, he was disgusted with himself over it, but what he had done to Megatron made him feel slightly better. Proof Megatron was crazy to think he could control him.

He knew that tyrant was probably grinning as wide as can be after seeing him tear into that mech, whom he identified as Squeezeplay. He wiped away some energon got on him otherwise. "You're weaker than I thought you were, Megatron," the seeker admitted coolly, letting him know he pretty much knew what he was doing while he was frenzied.

Megatron watched the seeker's armor that had been damaged begin to repair alarmingly fast. It unnerved him that he'd shot him and point blank range with a high powered shot, and yet hadn't killed him or even disabled him. "Next time, you won't be so lucky. We will see who is weaker when you haven't… fed for an astro-cycle or two."

"Only you would be so stupid as to do something like that." Starscream replied calmly.

Angry Starscream was making light of him, Megatron nearly roared, "Do not mock me!"

The Seeker turned his head slightly, the side of his optic on Megatron, "Or what? You're gonna make faces at me and hope it scares me away?" He turned back around, finding interest in the wall. Just as he did, he heard Megatron's primary weapon power up and he turned, this time almost completely around and gave the leader an unconcerned expression. He swore he saw the gears turning in the Decepticon leader, surely wondering if he should shoot him or not. When Megatron didn't fire, he turned back around to continue preening his armor of whatever energon was left on him. "You might want to clean up that mess out there," he stated just as casually as before. "No one else will wanna guard me with a dismembered body lying next to the cell. Especially if they knew I was the one who did it."

* * *

_Until next time :D_


	7. Plan of Attack

**A/N**: _Was gonna wait till later, but what the hell :D_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Because of his data collection abilities, Rewind was always the mini-bot of choice to be sent on reconnaissance missions via Blaster. This time, he had been sent to the Decepticon's city of Kaon to infiltrate the Decepticons to get information on their next plans. Steeljaw had gone with him since he was much faster, though he remained on the outskirts while Rewind made his way deeper. What he had come across was something no one would have considered possible.

He'd happened upon the brig when hearing something peculiar. Hunching down in an unseen spot, the small Autobot watched. Soundwave, Megatron and Starscream were in there and strangely enough, Starscream was shackled in a cell and Megatron was in there with him, then something remarkable happened.

Now, he had heard of the mystery killer a time or two, so he wasn't unfamiliar with the story, yet before him, some questions were about to be answered. It started when Soundwave gave a strange warning and Starscream started to change. Recording everything for Blaster, because live-feed would give away his location, he would give the Autobots an upfront view of these new developments with the Decepticons.

Rewind stared in horror when Starscream attacked Megatron. He was completely surprised that Starscream actually had the upper hand and probably would have won if Megatron hadn't shot him. That was another thing curious. Megatron had shot him _up close_ with his cannon and Starscream seemed relatively unharmed. He frowned in revulsion when Starscream had attacked the other mech. Shortly after, he knew he'd been spotted and quickly took off. Somehow he knew Starscream wasn't going to tell Megatron he'd seen him. Rewind saw his expression, it was spiteful yet charismatic. Almost as to say: 'Now you no longer have to wonder.'

Creepy…

* * *

He'd entered just as Starscream was starting to change on the video provided by Rewind, who was still in shock over the ordeal. "Is that Starscream?" Ratchet's voice filled from behind those still staring at the screen, having been sent a message via comm. to come to where Optimus was viewing Rewind's recording.

"Affirmative," Optimus replied.

The Autobots present were astonished by what they saw. They had just finished viewing what Rewind had recorded and just didn't know what to say. Needless to say, they discovered who the killer was. What made it worse, was that Megatron, by the looks of things, must already know about it and has him. No one was sure whether it was good or bad that Starscream had nearly taken Megatron's spark then and there. No one linked the killings to Starscream. It was too animalistic to be someone as sophisticated as him. How could someone like him end up with such a thing? Something didn't feel right.

"Optimus, I think we have a certifiably big problem," Jazz, who was also standing there, staring, said. "That's just downright bad."

"How do we stop something like that?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Kaon, when he wasn't crazy, Starscream was bound and forcibly moved into a smaller, stronger cage. He couldn't even stand up straight, being it was so short. He pointedly stared at Soundwave, who was overseeing the whole thing, silently promising with every ounce of will that he had, that he would kill him for this.

As planned, Starscream was starved of his unnatural feedings. After two deca-cycles, Starscream transformed into that monster again. Megatron was there to witness, but then he had a better idea, getting tired of Starscream yelling at him. He had the perfect mech in mind and sent for him to be brought in, though not to be Starscream's next meal.

When the mech arrived and got a glimpse of the monster on the other side of the cage, he unconsciously moved against the further wall. "Wh-what is that?"

"Fangry. Good of you to show…" he noted and then pointed, "That is Starscream,"

"What? _That's_ Starscream?" Fangry asked confused and scared. "What happened to him?" That thing in the cage looked nothing like the Starscream he knew.

"He's become quite a monster."

"What is it you want me to do?" he slid further away as Starscream lunged at the bars.

Megatron watched Starscream then turned for the other mech. "You are to stand in here, nothing more."

"Wh-why?"

"He needs to remain… tempted."

"Tempted? Tempted by what?"

"Your live spark,"

"What?!"

"I recommend you to keep your distance if you want to live," the leader advised, "If he gets a hold of you, you're through."

"N-no advice needed, I ain't going anywhere near that thing!"

Fangry was made to sit on the outside of the cage after Starscream had turned into the monster to agitate him. He stared at Starscream for a long time, trying to wrap his mind around this.

"Come over here," Starscream called, trying to see if the mech was stupid enough to do so.

The mech knew better than to approach the cage, in fear for his life. Starscream growled and attacked the cage several times trying to break them to get at him, but it was no use. The reinforced bars kept him in, and the more he could not get to the spark that was sitting right in front of him, the more pissed off he became.

The more upset Starscream became, the more scared he got, because Primus was that one scary beast. A few times he'd considered asking to leave, but knew he would be refused, so he only prayed those bars would hold up. Starscream frightened him even more when using his brute strength, a bar started to move.

The racket Starscream was making was upsetting those that could hear him, and there were very few that couldn't. He was loud and becoming uncontrollable. Finally having heard enough, Megatron ordered Hook to go and try to calm him. Being a stronger mech, Hook's appearing annoyed Starscream even more, but the Constructicon had a plan. In his wrist, he'd put special darts with sedatives in them. The next time Starscream reached out of the bars, Hook grabbed his arm and slammed the darts into his energon lines. There was only one problem… The sedatives hardly worked on him.

Having no other choice in the matter, Starscream was moved to floors below, where he could not be heard as much. The same mech remained with him, but was given breaks, replaced by other mechs, who were just as scared as he was to be put in such a position with a feral creature. This went on for a few joors until Megatron was ready to use the seeker.

* * *

They'd used a warship to carry Starscream's cage to its destination. When it had settled to a hover, Starscream was pushed out of the ship, cage and all. A catch release allowed the door to open and Starscream tumbled out. When Megatron hadn't expected, was for Starscream to go after one of the other fliers that had been sent with him. He got one of them before he finally turned on the Autobots. Starscream was more ravenous now than ever. That first mech was not enough and he went for more. Below him, a smaller Autobot was below and he didn't really see any others close by, so he went for it. He took out one smaller mech with ease yet it still wasn't enough, all the while he'd his attention was on the second one shooting him.

Skywarp had also been sent on the mission with Starscream. He hadn't known at the time who it was he was sent with, having been out of the loop since he was elsewhere lately. He was lucky enough to make it away alive, having teleported before the monster mech could get his hands on him. The mech Megatron had sent with the group was nothing short of scary. It gave him a very bad vibe. It looked almost like a seeker, but… not right. Not right at all.

In the middle of Iacon, Starscream found other sparks and ravenously went after them. Optimus and a few others who were expecting the creature to arrive, made an attempt for a counter offensive, only to find nothing worked. They'd fired on him, but the seeker kept attacking. They'd even used something equivalent to his Null Ray, which should have rendered his body paralyzed, but he kept going, taking out a third Autobot and still going for more. This time his optics fell on Optimus himself, having made himself a target by being there.

Optimus deflected the Seeker, and he tumbled about on the ground. When the seeker stood up again, he went to go after Optimus again, but another Autobot who'd seen him speared the seeker and instead of getting him to go somewhere else, Starscream turned on the one who tried to stop him and ripped him to shreds. The Autobots, not having much of a chance or choice, retreated.

Megatron watched from live feed sent from Laserbeak who'd been there to capture what he did. He was unhappy about Starscream attacking his own troops, but his displeasure soon turned the opposite when he witnessed the Seeker go after Autobots.

Starscream's wing-mate kept his optic on the goings on from a distance as he attacked mechs, devoured spark energies and went after others until he stopped and slumped down. It was when Starscream started to change back, did Skywarp realize that the unknown mech was in fact his friend. He didn't know what to think, as he'd heard of the killer mech as well, but never in his lifetime would he have thought it was Starscream. The black seeker also realized in that moment that he was telling the truth about killing Thundercracker. Afraid to go near Starscream, Skywarp continued to watch as two officers came down from the warship and landed next to him. Starscream seemed to liven as they approached and began fighting for what seemed like his life to when they got him to the ground. Skywarp still hadn't intervened, although he felt a pang of sadness as Starscream was beaten into submission, yet a part of him couldn't care less, because he'd killed Thundercracker. He watched the two mechs lift into the air and head back for the ship with Starscream's sagging body and they disappeared.

Starscream was out of it the entire trip back to Kaon. He'd been sedated on the warship and dragged back into the brig. When he came-to, he found he was shackled once again and back in the cell he dreaded. When he moved, the chains scraped and clanked on the floor. He wasn't as tightly bound this time. Megatron was standing not far off watching him and waiting for him to wake. "That was very good for your first time, Starscream,"

The seeker looked up and sadness washed over his features. He'd known what he'd done and the fact Megatron was smiling so sadistically about it made him feel even worse. And if that wasn't bad enough, Skywarp, who had taken an interest in Starscream's ordeal, was standing far enough away he could peek into the brig and see his friend, but not close enough he'd be noticed. Looking past Megatron, he did notice him and when his optics met Skywarp's, the sad look on his face made Starscream lower his head in remorse.

"Your next target will be Tyger Pax," Megatron's voice suddenly said, distracting the SiC from his thoughts. "You did so well this time, perhaps you should be starved longer, though I don't know if I can put up with your noise that long."

Skywarp listened silently as Megatron continued to taunt Starscream. He could see how much it upset his friend as well, but he dared not interrupt. Instead, he turned and walked away.

Starscream watched Skywarp leave. A deep set unease filled his spark as he did, feeling his friend had just completely abandoned him. He looked back at Megatron but refused to dignify him with speaking, instead, he glared at him with extreme hatred.

* * *

Starscream was sent out yet again as promised. He'd made quick work on quite a few Autobots who were present, being beaten down but not even remotely close to stopped by a much larger mech than himself. In the end, he'd gotten the better of him. Someone else who'd seen the fight between the two had called for the Autobot to retreat before he was killed, but he hadn't listened. The Autobot's name was Jetfire. It was another devastating blow to the Autobots. There was just no orthodox way of stopping the maniac Megatron had been using.

Skywarp's growing concern brought him to where Starscream had been sent. He observed from far enough away he wasn't seen or apparently felt by Starscream. It became more and more clear to him that Starscream just was not himself in this monster mode and he didn't differentiate between who was who. So maybe it wasn't his entire fault about Thundercracker – maybe he really was sorry he'd killed him and fed on his spark. Maybe he really couldn't help himself, since the remorse was genuine after he'd reverted – even after killing Autobots. How sad. Although he'd killed Thundercracker, it hurt him to see Starscream used in such a malicious and terrible way. As much as he felt bad for Starscream, however, every time he looked at him, all he saw was Thundercracker's dead body.

* * *

_Poor Starscream... and poor Skywarp._


	8. Skywarp's Decision

**A/N**: _Happy be-lated holidays! Been real busy these last few days. Hopefully all things calm down to a more routine... routine._

_Enjoy this next chapt!_

* * *

After a short time of secretly observing his wing-mate, Skywarp had seen enough. He stirred for a while over what to do – if anything – for Starscream. He had a hard time knowing that his friend was not only a hideous monster that fed off of other sparks, but also coming to terms that Starscream was actually a victim in this as well. He never went back to the brig, nor did he even acknowledge his friend's existence, staying as far away as he could lest he become his next fix.

Concerned for Starscream, the black seeker made his way to a kiosk within Kaon that he knew was connected to the Decepticon's mainframe and with what little knowledge he had about computers, managed to hack into a medic's computer to see if he could get information on Starscream and what was happening with him. He knew Megatron had him and there was no way of freeing him without being caught – even though freeing him might not be a good idea either. He'd gone deep into the files, but really found nothing. His findings were actually under Soundwave's, and with a little finagling, he was able to see what he found out. Although he did know some of the story, he didn't know it all until now.

Through the notes and such, Skywarp came across different references to a curse called 'The Fallen's Curse'. At first, he wasn't sure what to make of what he was reading, not relating it to Starscream until he read further down that Starscream was indeed the one with this supposed curse. Well, that didn't make much sense. Since when were curses even real? His conclusion was that Starscream had become some kind of 'cursed vampire' of sorts. It was unheard of to him, and it left him with more questions than answers. What exactly was he dealing with here?

Needing more answers, Skywarp took the first chance he got when he wasn't doing things for the Decepticons and broke into Starscream's lab, looking through everything he could to learn as much as he could from Starscream's perspective. From what it looked like, Starscream knew of his condition and was trying to find a cure. And he never did – only an artificial substitute. In the same file in the Air Commander's lab, he found pictures of what appeared to be injectors he was obviously using for the substitute he'd concocted. With it, it showed the side effects. The file also showed what they did and how they worked. Seeing as he relied on these things, Skywarp assumed he was trying to not 'feed' on others and it was a sure bet Megatron wasn't going to give him any. He turned from the screen and began rummaging through the lab to find these injector things as he formulated a plan.

Strangely enough, there was no information on how to stop him, either. It was speculated that he could be killed, but findings from Starscream's laboratory showed it might be impossible as he was near immortal. There was only one definitive answer, and that was to exile him.

Not telling his intentions and tracking Starscream's missions, Skywarp managed to find him before he attacked anyone else, just as he was released for another assault on the Autobots. Warping to him, he grabbed the monster seeker from behind and stabbed him with three of the injectors before he could turn on him. He quickly backed off as Starscream tumbled uncontrollably to the ground. When Starscream hit, he was normal and Skywarp headed for him, knocked him unconscious and warped off with him before anyone else could get to him. He appeared in a remote area that only he knew he could get to.

Skywarp walked with the sleeping mech in his arms and then set him down. No one would bother him here, this much he knew. He'd already planned the coordinates to this place knowing this. "What has happened to you?" He asked. He didn't expect an answer. The black seeker had seen Starscream after Megatron had begun exploiting his… appetite. That helped him understand why Starscream had killed Thundercracker. He also pitied him and that was why he took action.

Knowing how a seeker operated, Skywarp did something to Starscream's mind while he was out. If anything, it would keep him safer. When he was done, he pulled out more of those injectors from subspace, he sat down and waited for his friend to wake. While he waited, he wondered what could be done about Starscream. He wondered if there was possibly a cure Starscream hadn't found yet or if he was doomed to live like this until the end of his days.

Starscream startled awake, being the last he knew he'd crashed into the ground. His first instinct was to lunge at whoever was around him, assuming it was those same mechs who beat the slag out of him every time he was done his 'mission'. Skywarp knew Starscream was no danger to him because of injecting him beforehand, so he had nothing to fear. However, he was who Starscream saw first and they both collided in the dirt before Starscream realized what he was doing. "Stop it! It's me! You're okay!"

Starscream recognized his long lost friend and quickly backed off the back mech. "Sk-Skywarp?" He was the last one he'd expected to see. "I thought…" He wasn't sure what he thought, though he hadn't anticipated Skywarp, that's for sure. He took a moment to look around, "Where are we? What's going on?"

"That doesn't matter right now." replied the black seeker.

Starscream then stopped, realizing there was nothing but dirt and mountains as far as he could see. What had happened? "Where am I? What is this place?"

"It's remote. No one will think to look for you here." Skywarp told him. And it was remote. It was another _planet_ with an added bonus. He wasn't going to tell Starscream that. In fact, no one knew he could teleport so far but himself.

"What? Why did you bring me here?"

"Truth be told, it kills me to see you have to turn into that monster."

Starscream frowned and looked down. He honestly thought Skywarp didn't care anymore. "Monster…" he echoed in a whisper. "I told you to stay away from me."

"Well, monster or not, you're sure as pit not to go back to the Decepticons. Megatron has gone too far this time."

Starscream huffed sarcastically. "You think you can stop me?"

"Someone has to, 'Scream. They're gonna kill you."

There was another huff from the Air Commander. "They can't kill me. Not in that mode."

"How do you know?"

"Because, I do. Just ask Megatron. He shot me point blank with his cannon and here I sit."

"Either way, I can't let them use you like that. Not anymore. It's not right."

"How do you know I don't want to use this power?"

"I know you better than that." He knew he was right. Judging by what he was reading, Starscream was trying to find a way out.

"Don't you understand? They can't hurt me, Skywarp!"

"That doesn't matter! They know what you are! It's bad enough that they're gonna be hunting for you! You're safe here."

Starscream frowned, not completely understanding Skywarp's intentions, yet still happy in some way that he'd cared enough to get him out of that predicament. "But… you know what I am." He looked away, disgust crossing his face, "Why would you allow me to live?"

Skywarp gave what sounded like a sigh. "Because, you're my friend. And as you said, you can't be killed. What else am I going to do with you?"

"Maybe I can be killed. Maybe as a friend you can find a way to put me out of my misery," the commander looked away once again.

"You speak as if that's something I _could_ do even if there was a way."

"Keeping me alive isn't the answer either. I suffer because I exist. You couldn't grasp the horror of it."

Skywarp shifted, "You're right, I can't. Maybe there's some way to fix it. Maybe you could to talk whoever did this to you."

"That's impossible. It was a fluke that I ended up where I did, and I don't think they'd want another visit."

"Yeah, like the worst fluke, ever. Who was it and where did you go?"

"I don't know. I tried to figure it out but the ability to get there evades me. It was an accident. I'm not sure I want to go back there, anyway. They put this on me and then sent me back. They're cruel in their own right."

"Well, it is called 'The Fallen's Curse'. Did you meet up with him?"

"The Fallen's Curse? Where did you come up with that?"

"Soundwave's notes. They know everything about you, I guess." Skywarp answered. He then asked again, "Was he there?"

"There were two of them there, and I don't know who they were."

"That's helpful." Skywarp sat in thought, "Maybe with my teleporting abilities, I could get you there,"

"Need direction, first, dumbaft." the Air Commander retorted. "And who's to say you wouldn't be in danger yourself? From what I can tell, they aren't your every day Cybertronians,"

Skywarp then brought out a data pad he'd collected information on and held it before Starscream. It had a picture of a mech on it. "Was it this guy?"

"No, who is that?"

"That's Vector Prime,"

After a moment, realizing what Skywarp was asking, Starscream wrinkled his noseplates. "Skywarp, you're talking about myths here!"

"Ha, so is your curse, but as you have already proven to science, not all myths are actually myths." He flipped to another picture, "How about this one?"

"No,"

"That was Prima," he flipped again, "What about this mech here?"

"Not even close. These guys were Decepticon-like."

"So obviously we aren't dealing with the good guys."

"What do you mean?"

"Your curse is from an Ancient – hence the name 'The Fallen's curse'." Skywarp flipped the image to another, "This one?"

"An ancient? Are you joking? You know how ridiculous this all sounds? And no, it wasn't that one either."

Flipping to another image, the black seeker asked, "How about this one?"

Starscream stopped and stared for a long moment, "Who is that one?"

"That's The Fallen. Why, was it him?"

"No, but he was there." Then an idea occurred to him, "Take me back to Kaon. I'm sure I can figure out who it is if I get into Vector Sigma."

Skywarp put the data pad away and gave a good, hard look at Starscream. "You can't leave here. Ever,"

"Well if you won't teleport me, I can fly."

"Where would you go? Better yet, how would you get there? If you haven't already noticed, I made it so you can't navigate. Your flight systems won't know where to take you."

Feeling a bit betrayed, Starscream checked his navigation system. Skywarp was telling the truth. He only had one question. "What? But… why?"

"You're safe. They're safe. End of story."

"What? I'm your commander, how can you kidnap me?"

Skywarp meddled with something as he knelt on the ground. "Heh, you lost that right when you killed TC." He didn't know if he was doing the right thing. Starscream's only saving grace was that he was Skywarp's friend.

Starscream looked away in shame. Skywarp was right. "You suck at helping others feel better."

"I never said I was here to make you feel better, 'Scream," Skywarp admitted. He still didn't even know if he could ever forgive him. "I just can't kill you even if it were possible. That's my only other option. The lesser of two bads is no good for anyone, ya know?"

"What am I going to do here?"

"I really don't care. There's no one here for you to feed on, either."

"You're just going to leave me here, then?"

The black seeker stood up and looked to the sky. "I haven't decided." Skywarp tossed him what injectors he could find. "I already know I can't trust you around me if you go into monster mode. Use those." Without another word, he disappeared, leaving Starscream completely alone.

Starscream watched his wing-mate vanish. That same empty feeling he'd felt when Skywarp walked away from him in the brig that time returned to him. He examined the strength of each injector he had. There was only one strong one, the rest were mid-range. He knew this wouldn't do for long.

* * *

_Saved by Skywarp. But then again, is he really out of the woods? Guess we'll have to wait and see..._


End file.
